NFOIC – Page 237 – National Freedom of Information Coalition

Editorial: Reject request to make all police body camera data private in Minnesota

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Sixteen Minnesota cities have asked the state to declare most information gathered by police bodies cameras in way too many instances as private information.

The reason for the request: The state legislature has been unable to decide what is public information on video and audio gathered by police body cameras, in large part because it is a very complex issue. Continue…

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Ohio’s expenditure database includes more than 100 local governments

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More than 100 local governments added their expenditures to the state's online checkbook on Thursday, a move Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel hopes will spark other local entities open their books to taxpayers.

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US announces $19M in grants to expand use of body cameras

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The Department of Justice awarded $19.3 million in grants this week to dozens of police departments seeking to start using body cameras but turned down a greater number of applicants hoping for federal aid to deploy the technology.

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Editorial: California bill punishes cities that do right thing

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Last December, the California Senate’s new President Pro Tempore Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, shut down a small legislative staff bureau filled with investigators who provided oversight of a few of the state’s myriad bureaucracies and government programs. De Leon decided that Senate committees would now handle oversight – and his office has since dubbed various run-of-the-mill Senate hearings as “oversight hearings.”

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Why the public doesn’t see more NYPD disciplinary records

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The New York City Council will consider a pair of bills aimed at identifying and monitoring police officers like the one who tackled retired tennis star James Blake earlier this month.

Councilman Dan Garodnick is introducing a bill to create an Early Intervention System in response to the debate over the NYPD’s ability to police its own. Continue…

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Campus police in Massachusetts are exempt from public records law

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They dump out Solo cups filled with jungle juice and confiscate fake IDs, but campus officers are more than just underage drinking police. Sworn campus police are academy trained, and can carry weapons, make arrests and use force, just like any other police officers can.

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States grapple with public disclosure of police body-camera footage

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As police departments across the country equip their officers with body cameras, many are struggling to strike a balance between the public’s right to know and privacy protections.

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Ballot’s $270M road bond package possibly void in Texas

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A special prosecutor has been assigned to determine whether behind-the-scenes negotiations could void a last-minute deal struck by Montgomery County commissioners to get a scaled-back $270 million road bond package on the upcoming November ballot.

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Oklahoma county commissioners stress transparency

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Cleveland County Commissioners were at the state capitol this week to speak on the need for transparency in their statewide membership group, the Association of County Commissioners of Oklahoma.

Commissioners told a state House committee led by Rep. Chris Kannady, R-Oklahoma City, they are concerned with how ACCO spends tax dollars invested in membership insurance funds. Continue…

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Idaho transportation group broke open meeting laws for 25 years

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An Idaho transportation committee may have been breaking open meeting laws for the past 25 years, the Twin Falls prosecuting attorney’s office says.

The Greater Twin Falls Area Transportation Committee hasn’t posted an agenda or meeting notice as long as it has existed but will from now on, Chairman Gary Young said. Continue…

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Author: NFOIC

Posts by NFOIC

Editorial: Reject request to make all police body camera data private in Minnesota

Ohio’s expenditure database includes more than 100 local governments

US announces $19M in grants to expand use of body cameras

Editorial: California bill punishes cities that do right thing

Why the public doesn’t see more NYPD disciplinary records

Campus police in Massachusetts are exempt from public records law

States grapple with public disclosure of police body-camera footage

Ballot’s $270M road bond package possibly void in Texas

Oklahoma county commissioners stress transparency

Idaho transportation group broke open meeting laws for 25 years